Is Hiring a Blog Manager Right for You?

There’s no doubt about it, content is king. That’s why it’s so important to have a blog on your web site.

But managing a blog takes a lot more than just writing fresh material on a regular basis. It involves keeping plug-ins up to date, making sure links are accurate, dealing with formatting issues and keeping track of analytics.

When you consider all the hard work it takes to run a blog, you can see why hiring a blog manager is a wise investment.

Read on to find out more about blog managers and what they do so you can decide if hiring one is the right move for your company.

What Can a Blog Management Company Do for Me?

Besides taking a huge weight off your shoulders, a blog management company can help you in various ways. These include the following:

Blog Management is Their Specialty: If you run a company, you specialize in your industry…not blog management! A blog manager specializes in running blogs. They have mastered the skill and have the knowhow to boost your business.

They Have a Skilled Staff or Writers: If you are not a skilled writer, the content you are writing may be sub-par. Blog management companies have a staff of skilled writers that can provide quality content that is Search Engine Optimized to get you traffic. They can also share content to social media to get you the best results possible.

They’ll Get to Know Your Company: The right blog management company will take the time to familiarize themselves with your business and determine the best way to represent you. Then they can come up with a customized approach that appeals to your target audience.

They Have Access to the Right Tools: To run a blog successfully, you need access to tools that can provide you with the right analytics, graphics and more. These can be a huge investment. Blog management companies have these tools so they can save you the time, effort and expense you would spend purchasing them and learning how to use them.

Types of Blog Management Companies

There are several types of blog management companies. They vary according to the services they provide and the amount of money they charge. Even though you may be tempted to hire the cheapest one available, it’s important to remember, you get what you pay for.

Here are some common types of blog management companies:

The Automators: The least expensive of all types of blog management companies, automators will provide you with content, but they don’t pay attention to analytics that help boost traffic.

Bloggers: A step up from automators, bloggers will provide you with quality content and may incorporate SEO basics, but they won’t follow up with marketing efforts.

Blog Managers: Blog managers produce good content and promote it using PPC ads, social media and analytics. They may not have marketing skills that are as strong as other types of blog managers, but they can be effective in boosting business.

Blog Experts: Blog experts are highly skilled at content production, analytics and promotion. They will drive traffic to your blog and get you the results you are looking for.

Communications Specialists: The top tier of blog management, communication specialists will provide content and run ads including social media, print and TV and radio ads. They will provide website support and live chat and they may even be able to take over your entire advertising stream. Although communication specialists provide a very comprehensive service, they are also quite expensive.

Finding the Right Blog Management Team for Your Company

Once you have determined your budget and the type of service that will work best for you, it’s time to go out and start finding a team that is right for your company. This will involve browsing web sites and interviewing the most promising prospects. When you talk to these companies, you will want to look out for certain traits which are as follows:

Fits Your Vibe: Every company has a mission, a purpose and an attitude. Look for a blog management company who innately gets what your business is about and already has a vibe that works well with your image.

Knows the Business: A blog management company should take the time to find out about the business they are working with but it’s even better if they have some previous experience in your industry. That way they will be familiar with your target audience and what appeals to them.

Familiarity with the Sales Funnel: The right blog management team will understand the entire sales funnel from capturing leads to converting. This knowledge will help them structure the blog, plan the promo and test the content based on analytics. They will push boundaries to get you the desired results.

Offers Insights: Your average blogger will do what you ask them to do. A professional blog management company will ask questions and take risks that will help you maximize your blogging efforts to boost business.

Produces Favorable Outcomes: Another factor that separates the bloggers from the blog management companies is their ability to get outcomes. A blogger may be able to deliver quality content in a timely fashion, but management companies that are working at a higher level will determine what they can do to add value to content, even if it means taking rewrites into their own hands.

Focuses on Value not Money: If a blog management company is asking about a per word rate, you could be in trouble. Rather, they should be focused on helping you get value out of your writing and asking for compensation based on results.

Understands Quality Content: Blogs should be written in an engaging manner and use a simple and concise language. Visuals should be included, and blogs should be formatted in a way that makes them attractive and easy to read. Bulky paragraphs should be avoided.

Has Great Ideas: Coming up with blogging topics can be challenging…but not for the right blogger. A good blog management team will be stocked with blogging ideas that will engage your customers for months to come.

Pays Attention to Detail: No matter how engaging a blog might be, grammatical errors and broken links will look bad for your business and it could even ruin your credibility. Make sure the team you are working with pays attention to these kinds of details ensuring they will be putting your best foot forward when they represent you.

Knows How to Network: Networking is important in business and a good blog management team will be working this angle as well. People in this industry will be well connected with other bloggers and freelance writers and they will provide backlinks to other blogs to build these relationships. This will improve your blog’s reputation and increase traffic over time.

A good blog management team will also work as social media butterflies ensuring your content gets maximum attention when it is shared on these channels.

Benefits of Hiring a Blog Management Company

A blog management company can take a weight off the shoulders of entrepreneurs and their staff and make content more effective. But what does this actually mean for your bottom line? Here are some results you can expect to see:

More Traffic: The right content will perform well on search engines and social media sites helping to engage more of your target audience. This can boost your traffic by 200-300%.

Consistent Content: The stream of consistent content a blog management company can provide will ensure there is always something new to engage leads.

Frees Up Your Time: Hiring a blog management team takes a weight off the shoulders of owners, managers and staff members whose time will be better spent on being productive in helping the company grow in other ways.

Establishes You as a Thought Leader: The right type of out of the box content can establish your company as a thought leader in your industry. Once you have earned this ranking, it will set you up for success for years to come.

Cost Savings: Blogging is a huge time and money commitment. If you leave it to your staff, you are taking away from the time and focus they could be applying to tasks they are more qualified at doing. If you hire an employee to blog for you, this increases payroll expenses. And let’s not even think about the tools you will have to invest in to make your blogging effective.

All of these losses and expenses can get to the point where blogging can take a significant toll on your bottom line. Hiring a blogging team is a cost-effective alternative that is more likely to provide the results you are looking for.

Blogging is an important part of growing your business. Don’t leave this task to someone who might not have the experience to make it worth your while. Rather, consider hiring a blog management team. It might be the best business decision you end up making.